With the coronavirus stats going in the right direction, all of us at C&G Newspapers look forward to resuming publication of the St. Clair Shores Sentinel and Birmingham-Bloomfield Eagle on May 27th. All other C&G newspapers will begin publishing on June 10th (Advertiser-Times on June 24th). In the meantime, continue to find local news on our website and look for us on Facebook and Twitter.

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With the coronavirus stats going in the right direction, all of us at C&G Newspapers look forward to resuming publication of the St. Clair Shores Sentinel and Birmingham-Bloomfield Eagle on May 27th. All other C&G newspapers will begin publishing on June 10th (Advertiser-Times on June 24th). In the meantime, continue to find local news on our website and look for us on Facebook and Twitter.

Two dozen family members and friends of Randy Menendez stood united in their appeal for information leading to the arrest of the driver who struck and killed Menendez on Groesbeck Highway at 10 Mile Road at 6:27 p.m. Feb. 3. Warren police announced an arrest in the case on Feb. 14.

Photo by Brian Louwers

Suspect arrested, vehicle recovered after fatal hit-and-run in Warren

Warren police recovered a 2018 Dodge Charger with extensive damage to the front end, hood, windshield and roof in the yard of a home on Collingham Drive, near Eight Mile Road and Gratiot Avenue in Detroit on Feb. 13.

Photo provided by Warren Police Department

The Charger believed to have been involved in the hit-and-run collision that killed 60-year-old Randy Menendez was found covered with a tarp in the backyard of a home on Collingham Drive in Detroit.

Photo provided by Warren Police Department

Randy Menendez, 60, of Eastpointe, was struck and killed as he crossed Groesbeck Highway on his bike just north of 10 Mile Road at about 6:30 p.m. Feb. 3. He was on his way home at the time.

It was an accident until they left the scene of the crime, and then it was murder. They left my poor brother for dead. That is the part we can’t reconcile.

Rosanne Menendez, Sister of victim

WARREN — A 24-year-old man was in police custody Feb. 14, a day after he was arrested as part of an ongoing investigation into a hit-and-run collision that took the life of Randy Menendez on Super Bowl Sunday.

According to Warren Police Commissioner Bill Dwyer, detectives and officers assigned to the Warren Police Department’s Special Operations Unit arrested the suspect at his home in Roseville at about 5 p.m. Feb. 13, an hour after they recovered a gray 2018 Dodge Charger near Eight Mile Road and Gratiot Avenue in Detroit with extensive damage to the front end, hood, windshield and roof.

The damage was allegedly the result of a collision at Groesbeck Highway and 10 Mile Road at about 6:30 p.m. Feb. 3. Menendez was killed when he was struck by a Dodge Charger, which was reportedly shown on surveillance video traveling north on Groesbeck at a high speed. The driver did not stop at the scene, but the vehicle was caught on surveillance video again at 11 Mile Road and Groesbeck when it stopped in the parking lot of Tim Hortons, showing obvious signs of damage.

At a press conference announcing the arrest Feb. 14, Dwyer said the investigation remained ongoing, but that the driver made admissions after his arrest.

“In his admissions, the suspect indicated he was traveling 70 mph at the time he struck the victim,” Dwyer said. “You can certainly tell by the damage on his car.”

The Charger was reportedly leased to the suspect and was apparently towed from a location in Warren to the backyard of the home on Collingham Drive in Detroit. It was unclear how the vehicle was towed or by whom, and the relationship between the suspect and the owner of the home on Collingham was not disclosed, as the investigation remained ongoing. Police believe there were two other people in the vehicle at the time.

The driver was expected to be arraigned in the 37th District Court on Feb. 15, after press time.

Dwyer and Menendez’s sister, Rosanne Menendez, praised the work of detectives Todd Murray, John Gajewski and Christopher Skridulis, who led the team of investigators.

“This was priority No. 1 for us. It was something we worked on every day, all day, to get it done,” Gajewski said.

Rosanne Menendez was one of two dozen family members, friends and supporters who stood with Warren police and representatives of Crime Stoppers of Michigan for a press conference on Feb. 13 announcing a $2,500 reward for information leading to the location of the vehicle and the arrest of the driver.

Dwyer later said the department received its first tip in the case on Feb. 5.

By all accounts, Randy Menendez loved his family and friends very much, and they loved him right back. Family members who spoke to the media said his life mattered, that he had an “infectious smile” and that he would lend a hand to help anyone, even a complete stranger. They said he often said his son was his “greatest gift.”

A father, son and one of 10 children in the family, Randy Menendez was on his way home when he was hit as he traveled east across Groesbeck, just north of 10 Mile.

“I have confidence in them that they will bring us the justice we deserve,” Rosanne Menendez said of the investigators after the suspect’s arrest. “That was an accident. It was an accident until they left the scene of the crime, and then it was murder. They left my poor brother for dead. That is the part we can’t reconcile.

“We’re going to allow them to do their job and seek justice on our behalf,” Rosanne Menendez said.